Trek For Survival 2 Chapter 2 Running For Their Lives

"What do you mean?" asked Gia's mother, Clara, as she sat up in bed.

"I overheard some people talking in the woods, and they said an army would be here by dawn," explained Vonn, s.h.i.+fting from one foot to another in his nervousness.

"Calm down, Vonn," said Tom, sitting up as well, and tucking the blanket around himself. "What makes you think we need to leave the city? The outer walls should be sufficient to keep us safe."

"Well, these two guys that I overheard talking said that they expected the entire outer city to be completely destroyed. I don't know how they think it, but they were talking about how long they thought those who made it to the inner sanctum could last with the planned siege. If we leave in the next hour, we should be able to get far enough away to escape the coming army."

"Tom," said Carla softly, "You know that we could never keep up with the kids. With your eyes and my legs, we would only slow them down."

Tom nodded to her, patting her softly. "Gia, take your brother and go. We will stay here, so if the army doesn't come, our house isn't grabbed up by crooks."

"What? No way!" complained Gia, fighting to keep her voice down. It was barely after midnight, and they didn't want to wake any of the neighbors. "Vonn, if my parents don't come, I'm not going with you!"

Vonn looked at her, and she almost caved. He looked so lost and scared. This was definitely not a trick to get her to leave with him. He honestly believed an army was coming.

"Gia, don't be silly," said her mother.

"No, you guys can say whatever you want. I am not going to leave you to die. Either we figure out a way for you to come too, or we all stay here and die."

Gia crossed her arms and gave them the look. The one that said she was absolutely serious and they were not going to change her mind.

"She's giving us that look, isn't she?" asked Tom.

"Yes," sighed Carla.

"I have my cart," said Vonn, laying a hand on Gia's arm. "They can sit on it and I can pull them. They won't weigh nearly as much as the wood I've had to haul every day. It won't slow us down that much more."

Gia thought about it for a moment, chewing on her lip. Mikey snorted in his sleep, and it seemed to help her make up her mind.

"Alright, mom, you wake Mikey and get him packing things. Dad, I want you to get your carving things into your bag. Make sure you grab your clothes from yesterday. They're hanging on the line and should be dry enough to not cause your tools any harm. Vonn help me get these things over here," Gia said, jumping into action.

The relief on Vonn's face was short lived as he moved to start helping. After making some hard decisions, everyone was ready to go. Vonn pulled his little cart up to the door, and Gia helped her parents sit on the back of it. Mikey was rubbing his eyes, but didn't complain when Gia explained they were going on an adventure and needed to be quiet. Tucking the last blanket around her parents the best she could, Gia nodded to Vonn and pulled her cloak off the hook. With one last look around the only home she had ever known, Gia pulled the door shut and locked it, as if they might return someday.

The journey through the streets was cold and dark. No one was around at this time of night, as everyone who had a bed was in it. None of the lanterns that normally illuminated the streets were lit. That sent chills down her back, and added to their urgency. When they finally reached the northern gate, gooseb.u.mps ran up and down Gia's arms. The gate was open, and there were no guards in sight. The gates were never left open at night, and there were always guards, everywhere, especially at the gates.

Slipping through the open gate, no one said a word, for fear the missing guards would be noticed and they would be blamed. Glancing at Mikey who was sleepily keeping up, Gia was grateful he was too tired to notice anything, otherwise he might have been making enough noise to draw attention to them.

"We're leaving the road now, hold on," whispered Vonn, turning the cart to the left and guiding it through the small ditch on the side of the cobbled road.

Gia could see tracks in the dirt where it looked like he did this fairly often, so she didn't say anything. Her parents were holding the sides of the cart with death grips, but no one said anything as they entered the edge of the trees. The sounds of horses and the gentle rustling of movement drifted on the wind and Vonn picked up his pace. Gia could keep up, but Mikey was stumbling over roots and rocks in the dark.

Handing her backpack to her mother, Gia stooped down, "Hop on, Mikey. I'll give you a piggy-back ride, like when you were little."

His face lit up and he quickly hopped onto her back. Vonn glanced back, with a worried look on his face, but she gave him a determined look, s.h.i.+fted Mikey's weight a little, and started back up, catching up with the cart pretty quick. It wasn't long before his gentle snores were in her right ear, and she couldn't help but smile. Her mother saw it, and smiled back.

"It won't be long now," said Vonn, almost to himself.

"Wait, are you taking us into the Forest of the Lost?" asked Tom.

"It's the only way we have a prayer of getting far enough away from the city before dawn," said Vonn, obviously gearing up for a fight.
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"The forest is too dangerous!" exclaimed Carla, fighting to stay quiet.

Gia glanced behind them, where a faint glow could be seen. No one was following them yet.

"I've been in the forest plenty of times," said Vonn. "It's where I get some of the better wood for the wood carvers."

"It's too late," said Tom. "We can't go back now. I only hope you can keep us alive to the end of this trek, Vonn."

"Why can't we go back?" asked Carla.

"I am doing the absolute best I can," said Vonn, starting to haul the cart up an increasingly steeper incline.

"Because those noises we heard when we left the road were the army," said Gia. "The city is already burning."